Sapphire

  The castle shook.

  “What was that?!” Ava and Lula said at the same time.

  Everyone but Capella looked alarmed.

  “You asked how I got here,” said Capella. “To answer that…” She looked at one of the large open windows.

  “Good morning, little guardian,” said Sirrush, his dragon head snaking through the window from outside.

  “You.” Ava was both afraid and relieved to see the shape-shifting dragon again. “You came to help us?”

  He laughed and hot air blasted into the room. “Not at all. I was merely interested to see what would happen next…and to take you to the last gateway. However, If you all keep talking and you don’t do something soon, you all might as well discuss this in the comfort of your own graves, or perhaps over troll-tea.”

  Chester peeped up from one of Capella’s knots, looking hopeful.

  “You know what we must do, sister,” said Adhara. “Don’t pretend you haven’t waited a very long time for this moment.”

  Capella clapped her hands. “You’ve convinced me. What a speech. All right. You”—She pointed at Ava—“get on the dragon.”

  Ava just stared at Sirrush’s smoking snout.

  Capella stared at Ava. “Would you rather walk? We can arrange that.”

  “Well, um, no.” She flinched at the dry heat radiating from his breath. “I’m just not sure…that I can do this. What if I’m…I’m just scared of…of falling.” She laughed nervously, then took a deep breath. She meant to say failing.

  “Hey.”

  She looked up at Orin who put a hand on her shoulder. “Remember when you faced Karuna? You were brave. A little crazy, but brave.”

  “And Kryos,” said Lula. “You only had a piece of crystal when you faced him.”

  “You also walked through a waterfall.” Everyone turned to stare at Antares. “Well I thought it was brave.” He twitched his tail, daring anyone to contradict him.

  “You were born to do this,” her father said. “Don’t be afraid. We’re all here to help you.”

  “Truly,” said Sirrush, talking over Warwick. “I’m about to throw somebody out this window.”

  Ava nodded, the weight on her chest lifting slightly. “You’re right. If I have to do this, then we’re doing it my way.”

  “Which I hope includes coming my way,” said Sirrush, irritably.

  She pulled out her sword, the iron figures silhouetted within, the crystal aglow with sunlight. “All of you are staying here.” Her gaze swept across everyone like she was trying to bind them where they stood. She focused all her thought on it, but the sapphires did not flare, nor energy spark down her arms. Nothing happened.

  “That’s nice, dear,” said Capella, patting her on the head. “But not exactly what I meant about intention. Now.” She flicked a hand at her. “Run along and play with the big dragon. We’ll be right behind you.” Her eyes moved around everyone in the room. “I mean, they will all be behind you.”

  Ava frowned, then gasped. Two more figures had appeared within the blade. Back to back, her tiny image stood with Orin’s.

  “I suppose there’s no denying it now,” Orin said, pointing at the sword. “I’m coming with you.”

  “You’re not coming with me.”

  A gust of searing heat blew her hair into her face and nearly knocked her over. Sirrush curled his lip. “That’s a very shiny sword now get on!”

  “We’ll be following you,” said Adhara. “I think all of us together can handle a massive horde of these demon-creatures.” Light flashed through her veins as she stood tall.

  Ava ground her teeth but knew it was pointless to argue anymore. She sheathed her sword and walked over to Sirrush. He took a moment to reposition himself and stick the end of his tail through the large window.

  “Climb up to my back,” he commanded.

  She gave one last look at everyone in the room, trying not to linger on anyone’s eyes, for she was sure her courage would break. Her gaze lingered longest with Orin’s before she turned away. She thought at first he was going to insist on coming with her, but he remained where he was. When he just stood there she was surprised to feel a slight pang of hurt. She strode over to Sirrush, and trying not to fall or impale herself, she climbed up his enormous back to sit between two scimitar-sized spikes. A cacophony of howls, inhuman screams, and roars assaulted them from far below.

  The entire valley as far as she could see was a black ocean of molochs and their soulless victims. Every molten eye was on her and Sirrush. Only a few lone peaks in the distance stood like islands, their tops free of the dark sea. As if reading her mind, Sirrush pointed his nose to the nearest and tallest mountain-top.

  “There,” he said, spreading his wings. “There is where you must go, little guardian.”

  She could just barely make out a giant crumbling stone arch atop the peak.

  He turned his head and a crystal blue eye on her. “You are sure you do not want anyone else with you? I can carry —”

  “No.”

  “They’ll follow us anyway.”

  She didn’t answer. She was hoping they would stay safely in the castle, yet feared they would not regardless of the danger.

  Sirrush let out a thunderous roar, drowning even the moloch’s dissonant symphony, and launched himself from the stone turret. Just as the creatures realized a massive silver dragon was diving from above, he opened his jaws wide and let loose a torrent of blue fire. Every monster within a quarter mile radius was vaporized. Ava thought her eyebrows had been singed away as they passed through the flame then rose skyward. She had to use all her strength and will to keep herself from falling off his broad spine.

  “Don’t go into the clouds!” she yelled, though she knew he couldn’t hear her.

  Lightning flashed and crawled across the darkening sky above like enormous skittering spiders.

  “My apologies,” he said, not without a hint of delight. He had heard her. “We must.”

  She risked a glance at the shrinking castle below and saw that his blast of fire had been for the others. They were racing out into the swarm of darkness, creating a path before them with all their power. Frustration and guilt boiled inside her at their determination to aid her. She had no more time to watch and fear for them as everything was obscured by dense fog. As they broke into the thunder heads, her whole body was immediately soaked and shivering. Lightning crackled around them, and she was certain they would be killed. The thought of such a quick death shocked her, not because it frightened her, but because the thought brought a feeling of relief. She shook the morbid thought from her mind, angry at herself for even thinking such a thing.

  I’m not going to die! But she didn’t even believe her own thoughts.

  She could barely see Sirrush’s head or the tips of his wings. He alone seemed to be enjoying the experience. Finally they emerged from the storm into clear sunlight and warmth. Raindrops briefly sparkled like jewels all around Sirrush’s metallic wings before the crystal beads fell earth-bound again. The clouds, illuminated here and there with flickers of white light, blanketed everything below them.

  “Why did you tell Lorna the prophecy?” she shouted over the rushing wind. “If you hadn’t she might not have done all those terrible things!”

  One of his large icy eyes peered back at her as he answered in his deep roaring voice. “You humans have more power than you realize. I told her nothing.”

  “You didn’t say anything to her?! What do you mean?”

  “I mean, she made up her own reasons.”

  “What?! Then why did she want to kill me?”

  The heavy rhythmic beating of his wings was her only answer.

  She angrily repeated the question. “Why did she want to kill me?”

  “Because of her belief.”

  She could tell he was talking in circles on purpose because he was amused at how easily she became annoyed. This annoyed her.
r />   “She believed you would destroy this world,” he said.

  “Why would she believe that?”

  He angled a bit and she was nearly impaled on a spike.

  Ignoring her questions, he said, “No other creature creates or destroys as you humans do. All of it done because of what you believe. It is your most powerful weapon.”

  His undulating flight was beginning to make her feel sea-sick. She swallowed, then the sickening realization finally squirmed its way in.

  “The prophecy!” she shouted.

  “Yes, the prophecy?”

  “There was no prophecy. There never was?”

  He turned his whole head to look at her, and she had her answer.

  “Why?” She couldn’t believe the lack of guilt or shame in the cold eyes looking back at her. “You created the idea of it just to make us do what you wanted us to do!” Anger was suddenly welling up inside her. She screamed at him. “How could you do that?! Everyone believed you had a prophecy about me, or the world, or whatever, and you didn’t. You lied. Is what you told me even true? Was killing Orin what you wanted me to do?”

  “It’s only as true as you want it to be,” was his cryptic answer before she shouted at him again.

  “Why? Why did you even pretend that there was a prophecy? What difference did that make to you?”

  Ava heard the crack in her voice before she felt the tears starting to well up behind her eyes; tears of not only shock, but every emotion she had buried since the very beginning of their journey. How could he have been so manipulative and so indifferent to the power of his words? His answer, however, shocked her even more.

  “Why did I pretend a prophecy existed?” His laugh chilled her more than the rain ever could have. “Because, little human, without belief in something grand, something to feed your arrogance, you are not so easily controlled.”

  She roared almost as loudly as Sirrush. “Controlled?”

  Rivulets of blood were running down her palms as she gripped the spike in front of her. But no matter how she tried to look at it, he had provoked them all into action, all because of a prophecy, a purpose, a lie they thought existed. She wanted to scream his false presumptions, tell him how wrong he’d been, but he was right.

  Over the rushing wind, she yelled, “Whose side are you on?”

  His body shook with a laugh. “Side?” He craned his neck around so she could see his lips peel back in a toothy grin. “I don’t choose sides. I create sides.”

  “You—but why? I don’t understand. Why are you helping me then?”

  “Because,” he said as he banked towards the huge stone arch. “Change takes belief, and belief takes sacrifice!”

  Sirrush shattered the peaceful morning with a tremendous roar that nearly ruptured her eardrums. She let go of the spike, clapped her hands over her head, and from below saw a red dragon spouting a cloud of fire as it flew straight for them. Sirrush rolled, and she felt herself fall from his back towards the inferno.